Sunday, August 10, 2008

an indigenous call to worship

Those first few minutes of a group gathering are pretty key. The all-important hubbub of people connecting that needs to quietly be gathered. That setting of environment. These dynamics need to shape the call to worship, the gathering of human people.

A new Kiwi album, Karekare: Te Reo o te Whenua, has been, for me, a great help. A merging of the talents of Paddy Free, one of NZ’s best-known electronic musicians, with Richard Nunns, a master of Taonga Puoro (traditional Maori instruments); they have created a uniquely Aotearoa sound.

At Opawa we have been starting our service with a track, and it’s been just superb to have the air filled with that rich mix of indigenous music with contemporary beats. We then move into our set prayer;

We gather at a place on which many have gone before. Thanks for land on which we gather. Thanks for the generations that have worshipped in this church. Thanks for those who have shaped our faith, mentored and encouraged us. May our acts of worship continue your work of shaping generations for ministry in our world today. Amen.

This album should be essential for any Kiwi alt.worship practice.

Then today we went one stop richer – we found a bird song, from the riroriro, or Grey Warbler, a bird unique to New Zealand. We used that as a loop, with Psalm 104 read over the top. Fantastic!